Alert Driver Uses Missing Comma to Avoid Parking Ticket

Judge Robert Hendrickson (photo: 12th Ohio District Courts of Appeals)

It took her almost a year and a half, but Andrea Cammelleri finally beat her parking ticket and all it took was a missing comma.

The Ohio woman was ticketed and towed in February 2014 for leaving her vehicle parked on a street for more than 24 hours, which was not allowed under a West Jefferson ordinance.

After receiving her citation, Cammelleri’s boyfriend noticed a missing comma in it. It read that “motor vehicle campers” were prohibited, when it should have read “motor vehicle, campers.”

She argued in court that the ordinance applied to a type of vehicle she didn’t own, and Judge Robert Hendrickson of the 12th Ohio District Court of Appeals agreed. In his ruling (pdf), Hendrickson threw out the ticket and ordered the city to reimburse Cammelleri $1,500 for towing and legal fees.